Swimming for cardio?

[Red Ketchup]

Has anyone else tried swimming laps for cardio workouts?

I tried it a few times and no matter how many miles I can jog or the fact I can pedal forever on a bike uphill, after barely 2 pool lenghts I feel like my heart is going to tear out of my chest and I am out of breath.

Of course the fact I float about as well as a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado doesn't help (legs are heavy and sink).

When I swim for fun in the lake at my family's country house I always use flippers but if I were to use the flippers to do lenghts in the pool, would I be cheating myself out of a proper workout?

Any comments or suggestions folks?

Red

[RON]

IMO flippers would be good to help you extend your work out. Kinda like joging instead of sprints. Maybe switch up a couple times a week.

I myself don't swim a lot anymore. It is a great cardio and very easy on your joints.

[talkhard]

Swimming is the best all around cardio exercise you can do. It gives you a full body workout. I would continue to use the flippers until you feel you don't think you need them anymore. They also make these things that go on your hand that can help you move. Flippers and the webing on your hands have some good advantages too. they increase your resistance so you get better workout.

[Mike62200]

swimming is great cardio. I dont do it though cause Im bulking up right now and it burns WAY too many calories.

[Red Ketchup]

I think I'll use my flippers at the pool for a while... i agree that swimming is probably the best cardio out there. I'm sure I could get more out of 10 minutes of laps than 1 hour on the bike.

I might look into hireing one of the young ladies who gives swimming lessons to the kids to "coach" me for a few weeks. Been swimming all my life but never had a lesson... maybe my technique is completely useless?

Thanks folks!

Red

[RoNNy THe BuLL]

Swimming has the potential to burn as many calories as jogging and walking. "But the average person would have to work out at a much more demanding pace to match the calorie expenditures of jogging or walking," says Angie Proctor, executive director of the Aquatic Exercise Association in Nokomis, Fla.

For a 140-pound woman, swimming freestyle at a pace of 50 yards per minute (two laps) burns about 10 calories per minute, the same as running a 10-minute mile. However, while that 10-minute-mile running pace is within reach for most people, the equivalent swimming pace is faster than the typical untrained swimmer can maintain. Swimming at 25 yards per minute -- a fairly slow pace -- burns about 5.5 calories per minute, the same as walking at a 15-minute-mile pace.

To boost your fitness and calorie burn, include intervals in your workouts. After warming up for, say, 200 yards (eight laps in a 25-yard pool), do a "set" of eight 50-yard intervals, swimming as hard as you can and then resting 10 seconds between each 50. Then rest for a couple of minutes and do a different set; for example, four intervals of 100 yards, swimming at a moderate pace and resting 20 seconds between each 100.

You can vary your strokes, alternate kicking with swimming and use equipment such as fins (which boost your heart rate and challenge your leg muscles) and hand paddles (for a tougher upper-body workout). Check out swimmeronline.com for sample workouts and advice on designing your own swimming routines.

[Warrior]

Great info Ronny. Swimming also recruits more muscle groups than most aerobic activities too. So a swimmer can also benefit from some resistance training against the water. It is obviously a good way to add some variety if trying too...

Now tipping the scale at nearly 260... I try and pick stuff that won't f' up my knees... and runnning/jogging on a treadmill or outside as an option has kind of left me about 30 punds ago However... I just ran to an accident on the street outside my pad and was amazed that i am still pretty fast... I may go out for a run for old time sakes after all. BTW, the dude drove off leaving half his car behind Viva Las Vegas!

[Red Ketchup]

Thanks Ronny! Great info! I was always under the impression swimming burnt more calories. Of course swimming is a lot more pleasant than running

Warrior ... I agree about stuff thats less intense on the knees. I'm not quite that heavy myself, but I hate jogging so much that I am always looking for options.

Red

[Strut99GT]

Red, I agree with your initial comment - a couple minutes of swimming makes me more tired than just about any other activity....I can't believe it burns fewer calories than running.

[chicamahomico]

I'm huge on functional training and swimming fits into that model perfecty. However it has downsides. If you are swimming hard more than 2-3 times a week it's gonna affect your gym work as it is a whole body workout. So you'll need to adjust your workload in the gym appropriately.
Now swimming has a very long learning curve compared to say running or cycling and you need to keep this in mind. As you become more efficient you will work less hard. With swimming you will find your technique improving for a long time. My point is it's difficult to judge intensity with swimming because times and distances are improved because of technique moreso than other more easily learned activities.

Also, swimming is not the best all around cardio exercise, that honor goes to cross country skiing. Damn scandinavians, too cold to swim there anyway